Time apart
by LexxxiiWild
Summary: Lara goes on an exploration without Sam. How will the couple cope with the distance? Will it make or break them? Rated M for language and later violence.
1. The Calm Before the Storm

"Sam, don't be like this!" Lara shouted as she made her way to her girlfriend's door.

SLAM.

"You're being so selfish about this! Why won't you talk to me?" Lara screamed through the locked door. Thunder and lightning rumbling as her fist knocked loudly. Her frustration grew rapidly as she stared at the white door in front of her. On the other side of the door, Sam thrust her body against the door, slowly sliding down it while letting go the tears she was holding in. Hugging her knees close to her body, she wondered how their anniversary turned so rotten. "Sam? Talk to me, please." She could Lara begging through the door, which made her cry harder.

"What's the point, Lara," Sam started, "you're leaving tomorrow and you didn't tell me sooner and you're telling me I can't go with you. How would you feel?"

Lara sighed through the door. "I want to take you with me Sam, I really do. Except that I don't know what I'm walking into. I don't want to drag you through another Yamatai again. You're still not over it." Lara was right. Sam still had nightmares from that awful place. Nightmares that woke her up screaming or thrashing in the sheets. Lara would always try to comfort her and calm her down but Sam knew that Lara was still not over Yamatai as well. Her injuries, now pink scars, still pained her from time to time.

"That's not fair, Lara," Sam replied angrily. "You can't keep using Yamatai as a defense mechanism to keep me away. Take me with you, please. Don't leave me here in this place by myself. I need to be with you." Sam's begging nearly ripped Lara's heart in half, but she had to stand her ground. She really didn't have any idea what she was getting herself into, and she surely didn't want to drag Sam through another horrible nightmare. When she got the call to go explore a very newly discovered tomb belonging to a Mayan priest, she couldn't turn it down. However, after doing some research, Lara found that there are still inhabitants that plague the tomb, beings that nobody has ever seen before. Of course, this sparked Lara's interest in the tomb, so she gave a definite yes to the company leading the dig, without even discussing it with Sam. As they sat in their flat sharing a meal, Lara realized that she had to tell Sam as her flight was scheduled for the following morning. It wasn't going well though; Sam had put up a fight for the last hour or so.

"No Sam, you are not going."

"WHY?" Sam slammed her fist against the door, startling Lara as she took a step back.

"I will not let you get hurt again. Now stop being like this and come talk to me."

"Fuck you, Lara Croft. Fuck you. I hope you have a nice fucking flight." And with that, Sam moved herself from the door before Lara could reply and face planted on their huge king sized bed, willing sleep to come. Lara let her forehead make contact with the door as she sighed heavily. She wondered if there was some way that she could compromise to bring Sam along. In her heart though, she knew it wasn't a good idea, for she knew that Sam was still traumatized from the recent exploration and putting her through another was selfish of Lara to think about. Moving to the kitchen to find the spare key to their bedroom, Lara paused a moment to watch the raging storm outside their flat when memories of Yamatai came crashing back to her. In all truthfulness she was not over Yamatai either, but she knew that it would take time for the mental wounds to heal. When Lara found the spare key, she went and opened their bedroom door, silently hoping that Sam was asleep so she didn't have to face the fury that was Sam' s anger.

Sam felt the weight of the bed change as Lara got in next to her. She couldn't help herself as the tears fell freely down her face. Feeling Lara shifting her weight, Sam knew she was opening her arms, an invitation for her. Squirming around the bed like a slug, she finally found Lara's shoulder and pushed her nose close to Lara's neck. Lara, feeling Sam's tears, gently rubbed her back slowly to calm her down.

"Please don't leave me," Sam breathed into her neck, making her girlfriend tighten her hold on her.

"Sam, I have to go. I won't be gone long. I will talk to you every day, I promise." Lara tried desperately to soothe Sam with her words. Sam finally understood that she wasn't going with Lara, no matter how much she begged. She tried to stop the images of leaving Lara at the airport as it was breaking her heart even more.

"Will we be able to Skype? Will I be able to see your face?" Sam clung to Lara's clothes as if she could hold here in this moment forever. Lara gently kissed the top of Sam's head.

"Of course, cause I know I can't go a day without hearing your wild stories." Sam giggled in her neck. The storm settled into a soothing downpour as the two women held each other close. Lara was very skeptical of the coming weeks. She has seen Sam be needy for her, especially when she has her nightmares, but it's never been this bad. She began to wonder how she will cope with being without Sam. The two have not been apart since they returned home from the awful exploration. She silently thought that leaving Sam behind wasn't the best idea.


	2. The Parting Words

Lara slept dreamlessly that night; however, her partner was not so lucky. Sam tossed and turned all night long, her mind replaying the accounts of Yamatai and her rough journey. Each night she saw Yamatai, however every time was different. She would always see herself but not as the victim, not as the girl who constantly got kidnapped, not a pawn in game of cat and mouse. No, she saw herself as the hero, always running to save Lara. However in each dream, she was never fast enough. She would always fall short and she could always watch the gruesome ways Lara dies. One time she witness a bullet enter Lara's temple, spraying her blood across the floor as the men standing above her only laugh. This time she saw her kidnapper holding a knife to Lara's throat. Sam screamed her name over and over, but like every other dream, she was not loud enough. She couldn't stop the man slide the blade across her lover's throat as blood spilled out of the wound. The men then tossed Lara aside like she was a piece of garbage, useless and dead, while Sam continued to move her legs forward. She wasn't fast enough and she watched the wound viciously expel the last remnants of blood.

Sam woke with a start to a black room; her short black hair clung to her forehead with sweat. Letting her eyes adjust, she noticed the time. 4:30 a.m. blinked red in the darkness. Lara rustled quietly while Sam lightly pushed back the bangs that were covering her girlfriend's face. Alone in the dark, Sam debated how she was going to cope with Lara leaving. She kept telling herself that it wasn't forever, but she did realize that she wouldn't have what she wanted most: Lara's arms around her. When Sam had her nightmares, all she craved were Lara's arms around her, now she wondered what she would do when she had her nightmares while Lara was away. She knew some long distance couples, some being apart for years, and she knew how difficult it was going to be. One couple told her that being alone is the worst, because then you sit and rethink your entire relationship. Another says that the distance was too hard and they were forced to spend time apart. Sam couldn't bear to think of being physically apart from Lara, let alone emotionally. She knew that Lara had finally let her in, and she wasn't about to risk losing that because of some miles between them.

Lara sat up and yawned, her internal alarm clock going off. Not surprising to her, Sam was awake. Opening her arms, Sam instantly came to her and Lara held her as she did the night before.

"Another nightmare?" Lara quietly asked Sam.

Sam only replied with a nod.

"It's ok, I'm right here." She said as Sam tightened her arms around her.

"Why are you awake?"

Lara avoided Sam's eyes. "My flight leaves in three hours. I need to get to the airport."

Sam sighed softly. "Do you have time for breakfast with me?"

"I think it would just be best if we went to the airport." Lara hated goodbyes but she knew that this goodbye would surely affect her most. She tried so hard to seem ok with everything for Sam. Lara needed to be strong for Sam; she needed Sam to be ok.

Dressing in her signature light blue tank top, long beige cargo pants and hiking boots, Lara grabbed her bags and waited for Sam.

Sam came up behind Lara and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"Sweetie, you're forgetting something." Sam whispered into Lara's ear, making her girlfriend go through her mental checklist of everything she packed.

"No, I think I go..." She was instantly cut off by Sam's lips pressed against hers. Lara let herself melt into the kiss, and allowed her lips to move freely on Sam's. She tried to memorize the taste, thinking that she will never kiss those lips again. Pulling away, Lara smiled and tied her green necklace around her neck as Sam grabbed her camera. "Really, Sam?"

"I won't see you for a while; I would like to remember the last image of you that I see." Her face turned down slightly. Lara grabbed her chin and pulled her face up.

"I'm right here hun, I'll always be right here." Lara laid a gentle hand over Sam's heart.  
"You'll be on my boob?" Sam asked laughing.

"I'm trying to be romantic!"

"You're a cheeseball!" Lara smacked Sam while Sam stuck her tongue out at Lara.

The car ride to Heathrow airport was silent and awkward. The two women could feel the dread creeping up as they neared the airport. Sam let Lara check in, while she pulled out her camera and recorded the environment of the airport.

"And here we have the airport, boring as ever." She panned around the building while sighing. "I won't miss this place. I hate it here, it's so depressing." She then put the camera directly on Lara. "And there she is, Ms. Lara Croft. Exploring the unknown and the mysterious places, and she's doing it by herself. Leaving her trusty camerawoman in London to bore everybody with my horrible commentary."

"I can hear you, you know." Lara said as she was suddenly behind Sam. Her girlfriend quickly shut her camera and grabbed Lara's tickets.

"So where are you going again?" Sam asked casually.

"Tikal, Guatemala. Hopefully I can get some information from the locals before jumping into a tomb." Lara laughed dryly as she began to make her way to her terminal with Sam following close behind. Sam could see the security check point and she could feel the tears welling up. "This is it, Sam."

Sam could see Lara struggling to leave. "Please take me with you. We can do this together."

"Sam…" Sam started crying.

"I'm scared Lara. I'm scared what being apart is going to do to us. I don't want to lose you, I can't be without you. We haven't been apart since we've gotten back from Yamatai. I need you; I need you close to me."

"Sam, I won't be gone forever. This is only temporary. I'll be back before you know it." Lara tried so hard not to cry, she didn't want a bunch of strangers witnessing her crying. Plus it'd be a long flight if she is sat crying the whole time. Sam stepped away from Lara, knowing that her girlfriend doesn't like public displays of affection.

"Come back to me in one piece, please."

"I will." Lara struggled with the next words. The lump in her throat stifled the words into a whisper. "I love you."

Sam choked back tears, holding it in until she was safely at home. "I love you more, sweetie." With that, Lara turned and made her through security, while Sam watched her.

Sam stayed in the same spot until she could no longer see her girlfriend and turned to walk to the parking garage. Lara was at her gate long before her plane actually landed, and she wondered how Sam was doing. She wanted to text her and tell her that everything was ok, but she was afraid that she would just cause more damage than actually help her. So instead, she pulled out her iPad and reread her notes on her exploration.

When Sam returned home, she went straight to her bedroom, falling into the bed and letting her tears fall. She watched the clock anxiously, waiting until Lara's plane took off. In the meantime she had fits of hysterical crying, anger at Lara leaving her, and then calmness. This pattern continued for the next few hours until she finally fell asleep, grasping her phone while a video of her and Lara played repeatedly.


	3. Long flight and fresh memories

**A/N: Hey guys! So this is my first published fic ever! I'm glad that so far it's having positive reviews. I wanted this chapter to explain to everybody the plot and the direction of the story. As always reviews would be greatly appreciated! I will try to update as often as I can, I don't want to give up on this story because it has a lot of potential. Mostly I want people to kinda see what a long distance relationship does to couples, and being that I'm in one, most interactions between Lara/Sam are mostly interactions that happen when being in a long distance relationship.**

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Lara pulled out her iPhone from her bag and turned it on. Before she was seated on her flight, she turned her phone off as to save her battery, knowing that the flight would take at least 18-20 hours with connecting flights in Dallas. Upon her iPhone buzzing to life, she saw that she missed 4 text messages from Sam before the phone was shut off.

_"I hope you're alright. Xxx"_

_"I miss you already lol"_

_"I swear to God if anything happens to you, I'M COMING OUT THERE."_

_"I love you sweetie."_

Lara smiled at her girlfriend, always trying to make light of horrible situations. Her heart ached at the thought of Sam's beautiful smile and at the sound of her infectious laugh. Again for the millionth time since she boarded the craft, she debated whether she made the right choice leaving Sam. In her head, she knew that this was an opportunity that she couldn't turn down.

Tikal, Guatemala was one of the largest archaeological sites for the Mayan civilization. From her research, Lara found that major construction of the city and pyramids had started taking place around 400-300 BC. She knew the complete layouts of the famous pyramids that captured many historians. Even though the city was already heavily discovered, a few miles to the east of the city, a mysterious altar was found. The altar, according to designs etched into the stone, was used to worship Lady of Tikal. Lara found that Lady of Tikal began her ruling around 511, however around 525; every record of her in the city was lost. Lady of Tikal was married off during her reign, but then the queen and her priests mysteriously disappeared, naming her husband King. During this time, a number of people vanished from Tikal, some speculating that Lady of Tikal's priests were kidnapping them and sacrificing them to the Maya death gods. Myths have been formed that the queen, upon sacrificing her victims, would try to communicate with Hunhau, the lord of the Underworld. The myths also state that with each sacrifice and every drop of blood spilt, that the queen's power would grow and she would retake her rightful kingdom when the time came. It was said that the blood of the sacrificed will awaken the queen from her slumber. The priests saved the blood of each person slain in the queen's name into 15 vials, each vial belonging to a victim. Knowing the queen and her anger, the priests separated the vials throughout Guatemala, to secure that the queen will not come back and seek her vengeance. Archaeologists have already uncovered 13 vials, and according to limestone tablets belonging to the queen's priests, the remaining 2 vials were locked away in the tomb. Lara did extensive research over these myths, after Yamatai she knew that sometimes myths were partially truthful. She tried to find different layouts of the tomb, but she knew the company she was working with had somehow bought the 13 vials and were very keen on finding the other 2.

Knowing all this however, couldn't stop the ache in her heart. Lara would give anything to have Sam next to her, recording her discoveries and even keep her company. The cabin was dark and the passengers around her were fast asleep. The flight attendants kept themselves busy in the back, gossiping relentlessly. Lara idly wondered what Sam was doing and if she was thinking about her. She willed herself to stop bringing up the last image of Sam.

_As Lara was about to head through the security checkpoint, she turned around to give Sam one last wave. The sight she saw was even more heartbreaking than she thought. Sam had her arms around her shoulders, as if holding herself together. Her eyes were stained red, while her eyeliner ran down with her tears. Her lips were parted as if to beg her to stay or beg her to take her. Lara could feel her heart rip in half as she watched Sam turn and leave the airport, shoulders slumped and head down._

Lara knew that this trip was going to take a lot out of her if she kept thinking about Sam. She couldn't let her emotions take over her, especially when she was at the dig site. She had 12 hours to try and bury her feelings for Sam. As much as she loved her, Lara knew that she would be easily distracted by the thought of her girlfriend. She was going to spend the rest of the flight thinking about the first time she returned home to their London flat after being in the hospital.

_Sam nearly threw herself on the couch after Lara opened the door to their clean flat. Lara, still being sore from her injuries, hobbled in and gently sat down releasing a much needed sigh._

_"It's so good to be home, huh?" Sam asked as she got up and made her way to her new girlfriend._

_"God, you have no idea." Lara closed her eyes as Sam pushed her bangs from her face and ran her fingers softly through Lara's hair._

_"How are you feeling? Do you need any painkillers?" Sam constantly worried about Lara after she found out the extent of her hero's injuries. She has been Lara's nurse throughout their time in the hospital, disregarding her own injuries._

_"I think I'd like to lie down." Sam let Lara put an arm around her shoulder to help counter Lara's weight to compensate for broken ribs. She guided her girlfriend to their room, and noticed how nothing has changed since they have been gone. The bed was still made but their closet was overflowing with clothes, all of which were Sam's. The desk in the corner was cluttered with papers and books, Lara's own personal work space. _

_"Do you want your pajamas?" Sam asked as she gently laid Lara down on the bed. Lara decided to lie on her side, avoiding the puncture wound from the rebar that scarred her left side of her body._

_"No, too tired to move. Just come here." Lara opened her arms, waiting for Sam to eagerly oblige to the silent invitation. It was still so weird to Lara how easily the two made the transition from best friends to lovers. When the two declared that they couldn't live without each other, every interaction between them just felt natural. According to Lara, Sam fit perfectly in her arms, her lips formed perfectly against hers. Sam was the first to declare her love for Lara, but as hesitant as Lara to return the sentiment, Lara knew deep down that she was in love with her best friend._

_When Sam settled in Lara's arms, the two sighed contently. They let each other take solace in the comfort of the closeness. Sam leaned her head up and placed a gentle kiss on Lara's cheek, making the girl blush suddenly._

_"I love you," Sam whispered in Lara's ear. A finger found Sam's chin and pulled her face up so she was staring into Lara's eyes._

_"I love you more," Lara simply replied and brought her lips to Sam's while her hand moved behind Sam's neck. Instead of the short kiss Lara wanted, Sam decided to deepen it, nearly pushing her body into Lara's. When Lara's lips parted to protest, Sam caught her off guard by hesitantly running her tongue across Lara's bottom lip, absorbing the way she tasted and the affect it had on Lara. Unable to control herself or her hands, Sam ran her hand down Lara's body to the hem of her sweatpants while their tongues fought for dominance. Finally, Lara grabbed Sam's hand and cut the kiss off. "You remember what the doctor said. Not for six weeks."_

_Sam couldn't help the pout that bubbled up as Lara resituated her in a more comfortable position. "So, no frick frack till then? What will I do? I can't go six weeks without sex!" She wined._

_Lara closed her eyes and giggled, on the edge of falling asleep. "Well last time I checked, you do have a hand, you could do it yourself." Sam gasped at the response, making Lara giggle even harder, aggravating her freshly healed ribs._

_"My innocent soul cannot take such words!" Sam feigned fainting on Lara as she gasped again._

_"Can you be any more dramatic?" _

_"I could. Wanna see?" The two laughed until Lara yawned and fell asleep quickly with Sam's head still on her shoulder._

Lara didn't realize she had fallen asleep until she woke with a start from turbulence the plane was experiencing.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We are experiencing slight turbulence; however, we are nearing our destination. Flight attendants, please prepare for descent."


	4. Kraven International

**A/N: Hey guys! Hope y'all still are enjoying the story. I'd really appreciate reviews, but I'm glad everybody is enjoying it! Special thanks to my Beta (who is in fact my fiancée) Hopefully I will be able to write another chapter tomorrow or Thursday and have it posted by Friday!**

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A bright light lit up the dark bedroom making Sam pull the covers higher above her eyes. Sam groaned as the light ceased to darken. She rolled over and saw that Lara was calling her through FaceTime. The clock blinked 3:30a.m, Sam couldn't figure out the time difference in Guatemala at the moment so she answered.

"Hey," she said with sleep heavy in her voice.

_"__Oh my, did I wake you?" _Lara asked, polite as ever. Sam noticed that it was very bright where she was, and it looked like Lara was outside the airport. Breathing a sigh of relief, Sam let a smile creep up on her face.

"Nah, you're fine. I see you made it in one piece."  
_"You have no idea how long that flight was. What time is it there?"_

"It is 3:30, what's the time difference?"

_"__Hmm, it looks like I'm seven hours behind you."_ Lara started to explain her whole flight and what a drag it was for her, while Sam simply stared at her. She took in all of Lara's features, feeling like it has been a lifetime since she saw her girlfriend. _"Are you even listening Sam?"_

Blinking back into reality, Sam saw that Lara had a frustrated look on her face. "What?"

_"__I said that this may be the only time that we will be able to FaceTime, because I have a six hour drive ahead of me to Tikal. Apparently the company I will be working for is sending quite a luxurious vehicle."_ She finished with a sneer. Lara hated when people doted on her because she was now a world famous explorer.

"What's the company name again?"  
_"Kraven International."_ Sam wrote down the name, determined to Google it as soon as Lara hung up on her.

"Will we still be able to talk?"  
_"I'll have a satellite phone so I'll try to call as often as I can. But remember I will be working, so you can't call me every second."_

"Yeah, Lara, ok? I get it." Sam snapped at Lara. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Sorry, this already sucks.

_"__I have to go Sam. I'll talk to you soon. I promise." _

"I love you." Lara hung up on Sam as soon as she said the words, not even saying them back. It did not go unnoticed by Sam though. Sitting up, Sam pulled up Google and typed in 'Kraven International'. Reading through the website, Sam found out that the company was run by Edward Kraven, an entrepreneur who's goals are to 'discover and uncover history that was once lost to us by brilliant and passionate historians'. The company claims that they choose each archaeologist through an extensive interview, making sure that they aren't 'using the company to further their own agenda' and that any artifacts uncovered by the explorer will be immediately handed over to show to the world the 'many wonders lost by time'. Continuing her reading, Sam has found that many donors have given millions of dollars to this company and that it was a company well known in the history sect, although Sam has never heard of them. She would have to make a mental note to speak to her father about it, knowing that her father would have information about every company. However, that would have to wait; Sam rolled over and fell back asleep.

As the black car pulled in front of Lara, she couldn't help but feel a little excited about getting to the dig site. However a twinge of guilt flooded through her because she realized everything she has done to get to this point. She remembered Edward Kraven calling her himself to schedule an interview, even though she did not send off an application to the company.

* * *

_"__Ah, Miss Croft, a pleasure to finally meet you, I have heard magnificent things about you." Edward Kraven, wearing a tailor made black suit, held out his hand to shake Lara'. His blonder hair was slick back while his piercing brown eyes took in Lara's body. She had to look up to make eye contact with the man. Even though the man seemed very humble toward his employees, Lara could tell that the man was smug about his wealth and his accomplishments._

_"__The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Kraven."_

_"__Please sit, we have a lot to discuss." Lara sat directly across from the CEO in an enormous conference room. Mr. Kraven folded his hands while wearing a smug grin on his face._

_"__I'm going to be frank sir; I'm not quite sure why you contacted me." Edward Kraven laughed as he leaned towards Lara._

_"__Lara, I have heard so much about the work you did on Yamatai. I mean who hasn't heard it now that the story is out? I knew that I needed somebody like you on my team. That is why I reached out for you. I personally want you to work for me, or rather work for our upcoming project."_

_"__What project do you have in mind?" Lara never took charity gifts from unknown companies, but ever since Yamatai, her thirst for adventure has grown._

_"__You are familiar with Mayan culture, yes?"  
"Of course, the Mayans are one of the oldest civilizations."_

_"__Excellent. As you know, the city of Tikal, Guatemala has been thoroughly discovered."  
"Indeed it has, what have you found?" She knew the man was trying to hook her in, but he already had her. Mr. Kraven knew as well as face contorted into a tight smile._

_"__Well about 3 miles east of the city, we have uncovered another ritual tomb that has been buried away. We believe the tomb belongs to the queen Lady of Tikal. And we would like you to go explore it. This is a once in a lifetime chance, Miss Croft. You will be writing history and showing the world what was hidden from us. You will be famous, Miss Croft." _

_"__I don't want the fame, Mr. Kraven, but I would love this opportunity."_

_"__Excellent. All we ask of you, is to sign a confidentiality agreement. As you could imagine, we don't want the media to know about this just yet. And we do know of your girlfriend Samantha Nishimura, and we have come to an agreement that you may tell her where you are going but you cannot enclose any other information about this project." Lara debated this for a few minutes, her heartbreaking for Sam as she knew that she would sign the contract._

_'__Please forgive me, Sam,' Lara thought as she signed, her guilt drowning her in waves._

Lara snapped back to the present when the sound of a car horn beeped in front of her.

"Miss Croft, Mr. Kraven sends his regards. He hopes you had a pleasant trip." A man in a black suit said as he approached her and took her bags to the truck. Lara noticed that the vehicle was black as well, with heavily tinted windows and men in the front and back seats. She wondered why there was so much security for an archaeology dig. "Right this way, ma'am. We have a long journey ahead of us and it would be best if we set off as soon as possible." Lara entered the vehicle when a feeling of uneasiness fell upon her. She began wishing that maybe she should have told Sam before she left.


	5. Digging

When Sam awoke the next morning, she stumbled around her dirty English flat, trying to get to the coffee maker. Even though she has been living in England for a few years now, she still believed that coffee was the best first thing in the morning. She kicked around her clothes that were scattered on the floor, debating whether or not she should pick them up. Her girlfriend always wanted their flat to be spotless, however Lara's study was completely cluttered with books and notes. Sam decided to clean up the flat whenever Lara will be coming back. It was still weird for Sam to be away from Lara. They haven't been apart since Yamatai and even though it has been months since that catastrophe, the wounds from it were still fresh. Sam had an inkling feeling that something was wrong with this expedition. Not because Lara didn't take her with her, but it felt like Lara wasn't being completely honest with Sam about the expedition. Grabbing her laptop, Sam found Kraven International's website. The splash page screamed the company's slogan: Digging up the Past to answer the questions of the Present. From the limited information on the site, Sam found out that the company is run by Edward Kraven and that the majority of the company is ran off of donations. She also found out that Kraven International relies on donations from literally anybody to help fund their expeditions, and that Edward Kraven himself interviews the applications of the archeologists. _I didn't even knew that Lara had applied for them, let alone had an interview with this Edward Kraven guy_, Sam thought. The website also included a list of frequent contributors to the company, which showed that her father's company contributed multiple times in the past 5 years. Sam knew that she would have to talk to her father about his interference in the company, and she hoped that he would a little more about Edward Kraven.

As she stretched, she accidentally hit a picture of her and Lara from before Yamatai and it fell to the ground and broke. Leaning down to pick it up, Sam tried hard not to worry about Lara. Sam felt that Lara didn't tell her everything to protect her and Sam felt guilty. She knew that Lara would never forgive herself if anything happened to Sam, but Sam wanted to help Lara. She didn't always want to feel like the damsel in distress, she wanted to be able to protect herself and help Lara. Sam thought that if she knew how to defend herself then everything that happened to Lara on Yamtai, wouldn't have happened. She thought it was all her fault why Lara got seriously injured, so she decided that maybe it was time to look into self defense classes and maybe even trying to get a license to operate a firearm.

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When the black SUV came to a stop, Lara knew that she was finally at the dig site. Pictures and documents did not do the landscape justice as she took in the dense jungle around her. As she stepped out of the SUV, the heavy humid air clung to her skin, instantly making her clothes sticky. Walking to the campsite, Lara swatted away the bugs buzzing around her head while noticing the amount of guards around the campsite. Rows of tents filled the campsite, while their occupants worked silently. Each tent were the same sizes except for two at the very end. The first tent was heavily guarded, each man wielding an AK-47, while the second tent was completely bare. A man dressed in casual shorts and a tank top that showed off unique muscles stepped out of the second tent.

"Ahh Ms. Croft! You're finally here!" Edward Kraven did not look like the same person Lara met before. His hair, which was usually nice and slicked back was left unkempt. His muscles, once hidden from tailored suits, shown from the tank top he was wearing. As he was walking to her, so noticed that he was being followed by two guards. She made a mental note about it, however not vocalizing her thoughts. "Come, let me show you the campsite!" He smirked and began to led Lara around the heavily guarded campsite. "As you can see, we have enough staff to fit your every need. We have historians fluent in the Mayan language and staff members experienced in expeditions. Of course, you're the lead explorer so you will make all the decisions of who goes where and does what." Lara noticed crates scattered amongst the campsite full of weapons and ammunition. She wondered why Kraven decided to bring so much firepower, it was like the guy was getting ready to go to war. Kraven continued showing Lara around, and led her back to her tent. Inside, she was given a comfy looking cot, a laptop with a webcam and a metal crate that contained her equipment, including her two pistols that she had requested.

"Thank you, Mr. Kraven for showing me around, but as you can imagine, I'm very jet lagged. However, I would like to further explore the area tomorrow before we go to the digsite. I would like to know what else this site has to offer." Lara began to unpack her things.

"Of course Ms. Croft. I will send a couple of guards to escort you around."

"Is that really necessary?" Lara asked as Kraven eyed her suspiciously.

"I believe it is. We don't exactly know what we are dealing with here. I would rather be prepared for nothing rather than not being prepared if something did happen."

"Nobody has explored this before, I believe we will be fine."

"We will be Ms. Croft, as soon as we dig up this tomb."

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**A/N: wow guys so sorry for the late update! I promise to update as regularly as I can now! Please review and tell me what you think!**

**thank you for your patience! Xoxo**


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